The Florida viceroy butterfly, Limenitis archippus floridensis, is in the Nymphalidae, or brush-footed butterfly, family. It occurs in central and south Florida.
Being that their larval food source are willows they are generally found along the edges of ponds, canals, river banks, wetlands, marshes and wet meadows where willows grow. The Florida viceroy is not a regular sight in most gardens unless there are willows available for its use.
The Florida viceroy mimics the coloration of the monarch and queen butterflies. The theory is that since queens and monarchs are poisonous and distasteful, to predators, that the viceroy will also gain the same protection. However, recent research has shown that viceroys are actually poisonous to predators as well and not just mimicking to avoid predation.They are 2 ½ to 3 1/2 inches in size.
The Florida viceroy’s coloration is a dark rust-brown color mimicking the monarch and queen butterfly. They have black lines and black wing borders. The outer edge of their inner wings has a wide black border with oval to round white spots and the outer wings have V shaped to crescent shaped white spots. They also have a black line across their hind wings that runs parallel to the outer wing edge.